The Last Battle cover – Chronicles of Narnia Books in Order

Chronicles of Narnia Books in Order: The Complete Reading Guide

Updated September 2026

Chronicles of Narnia Books in Order: The Short Answer

C.S. Lewis wrote seven Narnia books, published one a year from 1950 to 1956. There are two ways to put the Chronicles of Narnia books in order: the order Lewis published them, and the order events happen inside Narnia. Modern box sets are numbered the second way. For a first reading, especially aloud with children, we recommend publication order:

Publication order Year Chronological order
1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 1950 1. The Magician's Nephew
2. Prince Caspian 1951 2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 1952 3. The Horse and His Boy
4. The Silver Chair 1953 4. Prince Caspian
5. The Horse and His Boy 1954 5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Magician's Nephew 1955 6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle 1956 7. The Last Battle

Only two books move: The Magician's Nephew jumps from sixth to first, and The Horse and His Boy from fifth to third. Everything else lines up. So the whole debate is really about those two.

In this guide:

How the Narnia Numbering Changed in 1994

For decades, readers simply met the books in the order they were published. In 1994, HarperCollins numbered the series chronologically, and that's the numbering you'll see on almost every new box set today. Older used copies may be unnumbered or follow publication order, which is why two sets on the same shelf can disagree about which book is "Book 1."

Neither edition has different text. The only change is the number on the spine.

The Case for Publication Order (Wardrobe First)

This is how every reader met Narnia for the first forty years, and it's how the books were written. Lewis hadn't planned a series when he wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and the first book is built on not knowing things.

  • The wardrobe is a mystery. Lucy steps through it with no idea where she is. The reader discovers Narnia with her. Read The Magician's Nephew first and you already know where the wardrobe came from, why a lamp-post stands in the snowy wood, and who the old Professor is.
  • Aslan is introduced as a surprise. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the narrator says that none of the children knew who Aslan was, and describes what they felt at the sound of his name. That passage lands differently if the reader met Aslan singing the world into being a book earlier.
  • The Magician's Nephew is written as a look back. It is full of nods to things readers already know from the earlier books. Those moments of recognition are much of its charm.
  • The Horse and His Boy works better later. It takes place during the reign of the Pevensies, but it's set mostly in Calormen and Archenland with new main characters. Placed third, it interrupts the main story just as a young reader is getting attached to Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.

The Case for Chronological Order (Magician's Nephew First)

  • Lewis himself seemed to allow it. In a 1957 letter to a young American reader named Laurence Krieg, who had argued with his mother about the order, Lewis wrote that he thought he agreed with the boy's chronological order more than with his mother's, while adding that the series had not been planned in advance and that perhaps it did not matter very much in which order anyone read them. That letter is usually cited as the reason the books were later renumbered.
  • It is a clean story from creation to ending. Some readers, especially older ones, like following Narnia's history straight through.
  • It is what the box set says. For a child reading alone from a new set, the numbers on the spine will win whatever an adult recommends.

For a first reading, start with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and follow publication order. It protects the discoveries Lewis built into the first book, and it lets The Magician's Nephew play as the origin story it was written to be.

If you're rereading, or a teenager is coming to the books for the first time, chronological order is a perfectly good experience. Lewis's own view appears to have been that it didn't matter much, and that's a fair place to land.

One compromise many families use: publication order, but with The Horse and His Boy read wherever it fits your household's momentum. It stands alone well.

The Seven Narnia Books at a Glance

  • The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950): four Pevensie children, a wardrobe, the White Witch's endless winter, and Aslan.
  • Prince Caspian (1951): the Pevensies are called back centuries later to help a young prince reclaim his throne.
  • The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952): Edmund, Lucy and their difficult cousin Eustace sail to the end of the world with Caspian. A favorite for read-alouds.
  • The Silver Chair (1953): Eustace and a schoolmate, Jill, search for a lost prince, guided by the gloomy Marsh-wiggle Puddleglum.
  • The Horse and His Boy (1954): a boy and a talking horse escape Calormen and ride north to warn Narnia of an invasion.
  • The Magician's Nephew (1955): Digory and Polly, a meddling uncle, magic rings, and the creation of Narnia.
  • The Last Battle (1956): a false Aslan, a war, and the end of Narnia. It won the Carnegie Medal in 1956.

When a child finishes The Last Battle and asks for more, our list of books like the Chronicles of Narnia has fantasy and faith-based series that pick up where Lewis leaves off. Older readers often go next to Lewis's friend and fellow Oxford don; our Tolkien books in order guide starts with The Hobbit.

Narnia Age, Faith and Content Notes

The books work as read-alouds from about age five or six and as independent reading from about eight. The chapters are short and Pauline Baynes's original illustrations help younger listeners. If Narnia goes well as a family read, our read-aloud chapter books for families list suggests what to read aloud next.

Lewis was a Christian, and the Christian parallels, especially Aslan's sacrifice in the first book and the final chapters of The Last Battle, are one reason the series is so loved by Christian homeschool families. Lewis described the books less as allegory and more as imagining what might happen if a world like Narnia existed. Children who don't know the background simply read them as adventure stories. For more stories with the same gentle faith undercurrent at a younger reading level, see our Christian chapter books for kids.

A few things worth a heads-up:

  • There are battles and deaths, and the Stone Table scene can upset sensitive young listeners.
  • The Last Battle is dark in places and deals directly with death. Some parents save it until a child is a bit older.
  • The portrayal of the Calormenes in The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle is often criticized as a stereotyped picture of a Middle Eastern culture. It is worth a conversation with older children.
  • Susan's absence from the ending of The Last Battle is something readers have argued about for decades. Expect questions.

For Lewis's other books, including the Space Trilogy and Mere Christianity, see our complete C.S. Lewis reading list.

Narnia on Screen, Including Greta Gerwig's New Film

  • BBC television series (1988–1990): adapted four books: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair. Low-budget by today's standards but faithful, and a homeschool favorite.
  • Walden Media films: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), all rated PG.
  • Netflix and Greta Gerwig: Netflix acquired the rights to the whole series in 2018. Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew was first set for an IMAX release around Thanksgiving 2026, but in May 2026 it moved to a full theatrical release: wide release on February 12, 2027, and Netflix streaming from April 2, 2027. The cast includes Emma Mackey, Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep.

Worth noticing: Netflix chose to start with The Magician's Nephew, which follows chronological order. Expect a wave of families asking which book to read before the film. Our answer is to read it after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe if you have time for both. While you wait for the release, our family fantasy movies on DVD guide covers the earlier Narnia films and others like them.

Collecting a Used Narnia Set

Narnia is one of the easiest series to buy secondhand, and mixing editions is fine as long as you ignore the spine numbers. Browse our C.S. Lewis titles, or look through our fantasy and kids' books collections. The earlier films turn up in family DVDs. Orders over $15 ship free.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the correct order to read the Chronicles of Narnia?

There are two accepted orders. Publication order starts with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) and ends with The Last Battle (1956). Chronological order starts with The Magician's Nephew. We recommend publication order for a first reading.

Why do Narnia box sets start with The Magician's Nephew?

HarperCollins numbered the series in chronological order in 1994, a choice usually traced to a 1957 letter in which Lewis said he leaned toward reading the books chronologically. The text is unchanged; only the numbering moved.

What did C.S. Lewis say about the reading order?

In a 1957 letter to a boy named Laurence Krieg, Lewis said he thought he agreed with the chronological order, but added that the series was not planned in advance and that perhaps it did not matter very much which order anyone read them in.

How many Narnia books are there?

Seven, published from 1950 to 1956. Lewis wrote no further Narnia novels.

What age are the Narnia books for?

They work as read-alouds from about age five or six and as independent reading from about eight. The Last Battle is the darkest and some families save it for slightly older children.

When does the Greta Gerwig Narnia movie come out?

Narnia: The Magician's Nephew opens in theaters on February 12, 2027, and streams on Netflix from April 2, 2027.

Can you read The Horse and His Boy on its own?

Yes. It has its own main characters and only brief appearances from the Pevensies, so it can be read at almost any point in the series.

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